Only Away, Never Gone
by RetardedFool
Summary: We may mourn for now, but we shall continue with the legacy. -Tribute dedicated to Monty Oum-


Uncontrollable sobbing was heard throughout the place. The atmosphere thick and heavy as people dressed in black stood around with solemn expression.

Among them stood a group of girls, all similar with the rest of the people. Yet, they stood out from the rest.

The girl in the red-hooded cloak stepped towards the tombstone, the centre of the people attention. Uncontrolled streams of tears already flooding and flowing out from the corner of her eyes.

"He was a great man." The girls turned to see a middle-aged man standing beside them. Ozpin, their headmaster, the leader of the Beacon. Now, he was only shadow of what he used to be.

"He was gone..." Ruby whimpered through her sobbings. "Gone...just like that..."

"Rubes..." Yang clasped a hand onto the smaller girl's shoulder.

"He is just away." Ozpin spoke again, prompting several curious gaze from the surrounding people. "But he is never gone."

"What...do you mean?" Blake wiped the tears threatening to escaped her eyes. "What do you mean he's just away?"

"It means that he will always be in our heart...and our soul..." Weiss did not look away from the grave. "Is that what you're trying to say, Headmaster?"

Ozpin cast a sad glance at the emotionally broken girls, saying nothing but gave a solemn nod.

"He will always be in us." The headmaster turned to face the many people who had gathered around the grave.

"To those that he brought into life..." He gestured to the students and residents of Remnant, along with several otherworldly faces known.

"To those he brought the chance of meeting and understanding one another..." A pair of heavily armoured warriors saluted, their tall statures putting them differently from the rest, the futuristic armour coloured in bright orange and deep forest green.

Soon, several more individuals stood out from the crowd of people, all dressed in the same clothings as the time when they were given a chance to have a friendly good spar. Courtesy of the one man who set up the event. The weapon wielding individuals of that particular group each pulled out their exotic weapons and stabbed them into the ground, a sign of utmost respect of the passing person.

"And to those that he brought together to enjoy those great events that he had organised over the years..." The last group was by far the largest group. Mostly dressed in solemn black, these people gathered from around the multi-verses, brought together by just one man.

"Monty Oum may have left us." Ozpin gazed at the faced of those who gathered. "But he is never truly gone. So we will meet him again." He turned back to face the monument grave. "In some place, some time, we will hear from him again. So for now, let us see him off to the new journey."

"Till next time!" For the first time in a long time, Ozpin raised his voice into a commanding shout, which was soon echoed by everyone at the vicinity.

* * *

Good day. Fellow reader, writers, fans of RWBY and others of Monty's great works.

I know it pains everyone to see that a great man go. And it is only on today, 3rd of February 2015, that I come across the news.

My condolences to Monty's family, friends, and everyone he had met in his life.

The first time I've watched Monty's work was a short fighting clip titled Haloid, dated back to around 2005/2006. That was the first time I was captivated by such an intense animation.

Following that, I almost religiously followed Dead Fantasy, where many imaginations was brought together to see how characters from many different games, universes, compare their strengths together.

This is what in fact, made me pursue the studies of gaming design. And strengthen my resolve to write fan fictions.

Monty Oum, a man who motivated me to the art of imaginations, has left this world. He was, still is, and will always be, my respected inspiration.

However, what I want to convey is not the fact that we have lost a great person. What I want to show, is that Monty is only going on a second adventure after this life. That he is never gone from us. That he will always be motivating us around the world.

Monty has left a path that he had paved throughout his life. Now what is left for us to do, is to carry on with the path. His legacy shall be continued, be it in canons or fanfictions.

Monty Oum is only away for his next journey, never gone from our hearts and minds.

Thank you, Monty.

We shall meet again, in due time.

RetardedFool, codenamed RF, a long time Singaporean fan of Monty's work.


End file.
